


A War Fought at Home

by Chaotic_Catastrophe



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-11-13 21:20:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11193660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaotic_Catastrophe/pseuds/Chaotic_Catastrophe
Summary: Corporal Natsu Dragneel has been through Hell, and unfortunately for him, the ride isn’t quite over. How will a new Rehab program at the local VA help? And will a certain blonde help make matters better?Modern Military AU. Warnings for mentions of depression and adult language/situations. Other warnings to come as the story progresses. Cross post on Tumblr and FF.net.





	1. Chapter 1

“Come on, dude, you know you should go.”

Natsu Dragneel struggled to sit up in his queen-sized bed, the rays of sunlight causing him to squint as he moved about. He threw off the red and black striped down comforter and breathed in as deep as his lungs could manage. His pain killers from overnight were already starting to wear off and the sharp sensations were attacking him every time he forced his legs to move so much as an inch. His chair was in front of him, beside the bed as it had been since the day he was released from the hospital. Gods how he hated that thing. All it did was remind him of who he used to be, back before it all happened.

Summoning all his strength, Natsu lifted himself from the bed and plopped himself down in the wheelchair, taking a minute to collect himself before making his way toward the door. Looking in the full-length mirror beside the closet door, across from his bed, he was greeted by the image of a man he hardly knew. His hair was long and shaggy, he still had his muscle from years of physical activity and training but they weren’t nearly as defined. His eyes, once a bright emerald green were now a dingy shade of forest green, almost black and lacking emotion. He was wearing Marine-issue sweatpants with a black tank top, his tattoos swirling over his shoulder and right arm. Above the mirror hung multiple medals and certificates from his years of service but all they did was make him angry. If he could stand to remove them, he would have, just so he didn’t have to relive the bullshit over again every single day.

“Hold onto your dress, Ice Queen,” he barked, sighing to himself as he yanked his bedroom door open and rolled out into the hallway of the home he shared with his ex-squadmate, Gray. They had to move when Natsu came home because their old apartment was a fifth-floor walk up and it was pretty obvious that wouldn’t work. Luckily for them, their former Gunnery Sergeant owned a property that suited their needs and he rented it to them dirt cheap. With Natsu’s disability checks and Gray’s pay, they were able to just barely keep their heads above water. Thankfully Natsu had been treated by the Military before being shipped home because if he had been treated at a civilian hospital, they’d never afford the bills. The pinket rolled himself into the bathroom, forcing himself up into another apparatus to take care of his morning routine. If Gray was going to force him to go to the VA, the least he could do was shower and the like.

Today was the first day of what Natsu called “Broken Summer Camp”. While working on Base, Gray had heard of a program at the local VA for Veterans who were disabled or having a difficult time transitioning back into civilian life. They had physical therapy on site (which Natsu was required to do for any chance of getting full function out of his legs again), counseling services, support groups, the works. He hated the idea of having to hang out with a bunch of other Vets that couldn’t do anything but sit, watch television, and bitch about their feelings. However, he’d promised Gray that he would go, mostly so that Gray could go to work and not have to worry about if his buddy had fallen out of his chair or, Gods forbid, needed something higher than five feet off the ground.

Clean and redressed in the more of the same outfit, Natsu wheeled himself into the kitchen and purposefully knocked into the back of his roommate’s knee. “Oops, sorry, Snowball,” he teased, feeling normal for a brief moment before Gray turned and looked at him. The raven-haired Marine never noticed, but his gaze would change into one of pity every time he had to look down at Natsu. Gray didn’t even make fun of him anymore! He couldn’t stand it. All he wanted was to be able to get back in the ring with his friend and beat him into the ground. All in good fun, of course.

“Finally,” Gray sighed impatiently. Natsu always took longer to get ready in the morning because he insisted on doing it himself. When they’d first got back, Gray had done everything for him, even helped him use the bathroom. It’s what ‘Brothers’ did. Luckily, after a couple months of extensive therapy, Natsu had reclaimed just enough motion to be able to do minor tasks for himself and Gray didn’t have it in him to deny Natsu that right. No one wanted their best friend to help them take a piss, especially at 27.

Gathering his keys and Cover, Gray opened the front door so that Natsu could roll himself out to the van. They fell into a familiar rhythm, moving around each other in perfect sync after almost a year of practice. Once Natsu was secured in his chair on the passenger side of the van, Gray got them on the road to their destination. At least it was only a few minutes down the road from where Gray was currently stationed.

“You never know, man, maybe you’ll actually like it,” Gray said warmly as they made their way to the VA, to which the response was nothing more than a grunt. Natsu had been silent the entire ride thus far and Gray was starting to worry. Natsu hadn’t socialized with anyone much since coming home. He lived with Gray, saw his doctors, the Gunny, his sister Wendy, but that was about it. Even his ex-girlfriend who left him before his deployment had tried to help but to no avail. The ex-Corporal was stuck in a self-imposed rut and no one had been able to bail him out yet. Secretly, Gray had hoped that by possibly meeting more people like himself, Natsu would go back to the way he used to be. Nothing wrong with a bit of wishful thinking right?

It wasn’t long until the two men pulled up to the VA, Gray helping wheel Natsu backward out onto the asphalt parking lot. They both entered the standard-issue military building but Natsu was immediately taken back by what he found. Sitting at the front desk was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Her hair draped over her shoulders like woven gold, her deep brown eyes hungrily deciphering whatever document she was reading. He took a second to commit the view to memory before allowing Gray to wheel him up to the Goddess behind the solid oak table.

“Hey there,” she said kindly, no trace of pity in her voice, “My name is Lucy. Welcome to the Magnolia VA. How can I help you, Mr…?”

“Dragneel,” Gray answered immediately, not sure if Natsu would even bother. “This is Corporal Natsu Dragneel, and I’m his roommate, Sergeant Gray Fullbuster. I’m here to drop him off for the Rehab program?”

Natsu huffed at the thought. Rehabilitated? Ha! He’d never be back to his normal self. He’d never get to run around, fight, or go back to War. No amount of “Rehab” could fix him.

The blonde beauty looked over the desk and smiled brightly at Natsu. “Well, welcome Corporal! It’s nice to have you with us today.” Taking a folder of his medical records from Gray, she came around the desk only for Natsu to practically lose his mind. The girl had legs for days, and a chest unlike any he’d ever seen. Back before he was damaged goods, nothing would have stopped him from at least trying to get her phone number. Now? He just allowed himself the privilege of looking at her from a distance and reminded himself not to drool like an idiot. Before he could grab the wheels to follow her, Lucy had come behind him and grabbed onto the handles of his chair.

“Ready for your first day?” she asked, her voice light and airy.

Natsu sighed once more, giving his best friend and brother-in-arms a deathly glare before nodding. “Ready as I’ll ever be..."

 


	2. Chapter 2

Physical Therapy was ten times worse than PT had ever been in Bootcamp. Like Natsu was pretty sure that Therapy was as close to actual Hell on Earth as a human being could get. If he was being honest, he’d rather have his old Drill Sergeant barking orders at him than the “sweet and gentle” Physical Therapist who cooed at him like a child. Nope, he'd take that old, nasty son-of-a-bitch any day over Mili-whatever the fuck her name was. 

He knew he was in trouble the minute Lucy rolled him inside the tiny gym. After Natsu was just barely able to drag his eyes away from the gorgeous blonde, his eyes tried to focus on what laid before him. Scattered about the room were different stations designed around different exercises, but with tables, workout balls, resistance bands, a set of mounted parallel bars and treadmills stood dauntingly in the back left-hand corner. His new therapist was seated on what had slowly become his most despised nemesis, black foam puzzle mats. He knew what those meant. They meant the grown- up version of Back and Tummy Time. They were gonna take him out of his chair and put his ass on the ground to have him wriggle around like a baby trying to learn how to crawl. All that was missing were the barbed wire and mud.  _ Then  _ it would have been a party. 

“She's not as bad as she seems,” Lucy said with a giggle, the mere sound ringing in Natsu’s ears like an Angelic choir. It was like she could read his mind. “Plus it's only for today. She's going to evaluate you and you'll be assigned a permanent Therapist tomorrow.” 

Natsu sighed in relief which caused Lucy to make that heavenly sound once more. He found himself thanking whatever gods existed for the fact that he wasn't stuck with his own personal cheerleader. If he had been, his stint in the VA would have ended there and then. “I'll take your word for it,” he rasped before the Therapist joined them. Her first order of business of dismissing Lucy, effectively beginning the worst two hours Natsu had experienced in months. 

* * *

“I know you can do it, come on! Just a little bit more and you’ll be done for the day!” cheered Milianna as Natsu struggled to lift his legs off the mat. Back in the day, he'd been able to do over a hundred Jackknifes in one sitting, now he couldn't lift his legs higher than an inch or two without sweating and panting like he'd run a marathon. Not to mention they trembled heavily as his body was overcome by pain. He knew that she meant well but it didn't help. All her “positive reinforcement” did was infuriate him. It took every ounce of his self-control not to chew the chick’s head off.

Laying there, Natsu gave up, his chest heaving as he rolled his head to the side. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel the mat beneath him before trying to regain his composure.  _ Deeeeeeep breaths _ , he reminded himself. A trick he’d been taught to deal with the anxiety and stress that came with being in the Service. Nothing like calming breaths and sensory cues when you’ve been up for almost 24 hours and are taking heavy fire from enemy combatants. Dealing with the Cheerleader? Just as infuriating. 

The Marine looked up from the mat and his emerald gaze was met with the best inspiration he could have hoped for. Lucy the Goddess was watching him from the doorway and once again he allowed himself the luxury of drinking in the sight of her. She held her hands in her lap as she leaned casually just inside the jamb, waiting for  _ him _ .  With just a few minutes left in his evaluation, apparently, she’d come back to take him to his group therapy session. Just her smiling sweetly at him was enough to relight the fire in his belly. Turning his attention back to his therapist, Natsu was able to lift his legs a handful more times albeit painfully. By the time he was actually finished, he couldn’t wait to get back in the chair.

“Great job today, Corporal!” Milianna purred as she helped Natsu back into the wheelchair that sat next to the mats, “Maybe we should work together every day if you do this well!” Luckily for him, Lucy had already made her way over to save him. 

“Hopefully he does as well with Elfman, they start bright and early tomorrow,” Lucy said with an apologetic smile, causing Milianna to frown slightly. Internally Natsu was jumping for joy, glad to know he’d be rid of Ms. Sunshine and Glitter. Once he was situated, Lucy smiled wide and came up alongside him, whispering so only he could hear. “You can thank me later,” she teased with a wink, coming up behind him to push him to their next destination. Usually, he preferred to push himself but how could he say no to more time with her?

The two of them were making their way down the hall when Natsu pulled out his phone to check the time. He noticed a text from Gray, sounding like his proxy parent and he huffed to himself before replying, immediately going to shove his phone back in his pocket. Unfortunately for him, it slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground beside his chair. He muttered a few different colorful words and was reaching for it when he saw Lucy out of the corner of his eye. Natsu was surprised, however, when she didn’t immediately go to pick it up for him. 

“Would you like me to get it or would you like me to reposition your chair?” she asked, her voice warm but inquisitive. He couldn't remember the last time someone had willingly given him the option of doing something for himself. Usually, he had to fight a lot harder. 

“Could you move me?” he asked, his chiseled arm already worming its way downward between the wheel and his seat. After she moved him closer, he was just barely able to grab onto his phone after a bit of effort. Still, the accomplishment made the Marine feel great. Looking up at the receptionist, he smiled the widest he had in weeks. “Thanks for the help.” 

Lucy returned his excitement with a thousand watt smile of her own. “I just moved the chair. You did all the hard work.” He was just about to say something  _ almost  _ like his old self but reined it in as she brought him into a room occupied by a few other people, some worse for wear than others. Rolling him into the circle, she turned and stood in front of him. “I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour, do you need anything before I go?” 

_ To be out of this Godsdamned chair so I can fucking hit on you.  _ “No thanks,” he replied, not wanting to bother her further. Taking her leave, Lucy smiled before exiting and heading back to the front desk. Natsu couldn’t help but watch her walk away, her hips swaying in a delicious rhythm of their own. He didn’t get the chance to watch for long before a voice brought him back to reality, one where he didn’t stand a chance with a girl like Lucy. Locking his wheels in place, he waited silently as the room settled and people took their seats, already counting the minutes until he could escape. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Depictions of war scenarios ahead.

Two minutes down, fifty-eight to go. 

Group Therapy started when one particular gentleman stood up near the ‘top’ of the circle. Natsu immediately noticed two things about him; one, that he was wearing an Army t-shirt ( _ Ha! _ ), and two, that he had an artificial alloy leg from his left knee down. He was obviously in charge because the others in the group turned and quieted, regarding him almost like a Commanding Officer. Army Guy cleared his throat and the room went silent as they awaited further instruction like obedient broken toy soldiers. 

“All right, let’s get started,” he said, his voice stern,  _ definitely _ ana ex-CO. Everyone had settled into their places, there being six members including himself and Army Guy. Natsu took a minute to mentally catalog everyone, a force of habit he still had yet to rid himself of. To the right of Natsu was a brunette woman who reeked of booze. Her clothes were skin tight, leaving very little to the imagination. Army Guy sat next to her. Beside him was an older guy with a pipe hanging from his lips, surrounded by a cloud of smoke. To his right was a guy closer to Natsu’s age. He had jet black hair, pulled back tight in a man-bun. Both of his lower legs were artificial and he had a set of aluminum crutches beside him. The last member of the motley crew was a woman with bright green hair and an itchy trigger finger in her lap. They all introduced themselves one at a time before Army Guy, or Gildarts, settled his gaze on a certain pinket. 

“Welcome to our group, Natsu,” the elder man greeted, everyone else responding the same automatically. “Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself first, or after everyone else has gone?” 

The answer was immediate. “I’ll go at the end,” Natsu replied respectfully, yielding the floor to the girl next to him named Cana. Serving a few years in the Air Force, she’d been a Supply Drop pilot. Her plane got shot down over enemy territory and she had to wait three days in the jungle before being found by allied troops. Gildarts confirmed Natsu’s theory as the Army Captain reminisced on his service days before going into the details on how he’d lost his leg. His unit had been caught under heavy fire overseas and he’d gotten his leg trapped in the rubble of a bombed-out building. He’d been helping families out when the floor gave way, sucking him underneath the cement. By the time his guys had gotten the last person out, there hadn’t been time to save the appendage. Wakaba, the pipe smoker, had also been in the Army. Apparently he’d been in the same squad as Gildarts, the latter rising the ranks while the former stayed as an enlisted man. They’d both been injured in the same attack, so when Gildarts started the therapy group at the VA he’d signed up. The guy who was closest to Natsu’s age introduced himself as Bacchus. He’d been in the Navy serving as Military Police for the Merchant Marines mostly. While protecting a shipment of medicine and other goods, his team was attacked by mercenaries, only leaving him and one other member alive. They’d barely held on long enough until help had arrived. He didn’t give many details and no one said anything, leading Natsu to assume that the topic was still fresh. Bisca had been a Marine Sniper to Natsu’s pleasant surprise, one of Fiore’s first. After serving four tours she was Honorably Discharged, but still had difficulty dealing with being outside the military.  Almost thirty minutes passed as they shared their pain and before it was Natsu’s turn to share his. 

“Well I’m a Marine too,” he began, earning him a pat on the shoulder from Bisca. Natsu cleared his throat and begrudgingly continued with his ‘sharing’. “I was stationed in Alvarez during the war, part of a Weapons Platoon working with an Explosive Ordinance Disposal team. Unfortunately one of the dogs didn’t catch an IED buried on one of our patrols. I got lucky. I was only thrown back so hard that when I hit the humvee, I fucked up my spinal cord. I’ve been in a wheelchair for almost a year but I’ve been able to gain some feeling back.” He chuckled darkly. “It’s mostly pain, but pain’s better than nothing right?” That earned him a battle cry from a couple of the group members and a grin from GIldarts. 

The next half an hour passed by so quickly that Natsu hardly noticed when the timer had gone off, signaling the end of their session. Surprisingly he felt... _ lighter.  _ He didn’t really like talking about that kind of stuff with Gray and he  _ especially  _ couldn’t talk to his family. Ever since he returned from his tour of duty, he had felt so alone. In Group Therapy, however, he shockingly felt like he was part of a team again, at least somewhat. 

Without warning, Lucy magically appeared beside him, smiling as she had all day. “As promised, Corporal!” she remarked cheerfully, taking hold of the handles on Natsu’s wheelchair. He’d let her push him around all day long if it meant she would keep smiling at him like that. It made him feel like he was back in uniform, standing tall and handsome. Part of him couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like to meet her  _ before _ his tour. She slowly guided them down the hall back toward the main lobby, the other members of the group either leaving on their own or with people who were already waiting for them. Natsu sighed at the fact that Snow Fairy was nowhere to be seen.

“Sergeant Fullbuster called to tell me that he would be a bit late,” Lucy said sweetly, wheeling him to the side of her desk before sitting down in her office chair. “I hope you don’t mind keeping me company.” The Marine couldn’t have thought of any post he’d rather have. 

Natsu sat dutifully by her side for the next hour, the two of them chatting about everything from the weather to her Social Work major at Magnolia University, the reason she volunteered at the VA in the first place. He told her about the accident and his squad back in Alvarez. They talked about her friends, and how she liked to go out after her night lectures. Natsu was amazed at how easily conversation flowed between the two of them. The best part was that she treated him like he was normal, like he wasn’t half the man he used to be. If he was being honest, he smiled more in that hour with Lucy than he had in months. 

Gathering as much courage as he could muster, the Marine breathed out shakily before he asked his next question. “So…” he drawled, dawdling in order to give him time to change course. “Your boyfriend doesn’t mind that you spend your free time with broken Jarheads?” His heart raced just as fast as when he was caught under fire while he waited for her answer. Natsu silently rejoiced when the blonde beauty blushed to herself and turned away slightly. 

“Can’t worry a boyfriend if I don’t have one,” Lucy replied before turning a more steely gaze toward him. “And you aren’t ‘broken jarheads’. You served your country and now it’s time that your country takes care of you for a while. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Before Natsu could stutter out a shocked response, Gray appeared as if by cock-blocking magic. The Sergeant wore heavy bags under his eyes and he looked absolutely drained. Desk jobs didn’t mean easy jobs, especially in the Marine Corps. 

“Ready to go?” Gray asked the pinket, noticing the stunned expression on Natsu’s face. He couldn’t tell if it was a good stunned or a  _ bad  _ stunned, but figured everything was alright when the other Marine quickly snapped out of his daze. 

“Let’s go home, Ice Dick,” he mocked, earning him a sarcastic chuckle and a fake smile. Natsu turned to Lucy and wished her a good day before she reached out, grabbing onto the armrest of his chair before he began rolling himself away. 

“Thank you again for keeping me company, Corporal,” she said genuinely, the same gorgeous glow rising in her cheeks. “See you in the morning.” 

Natsu grinned wildly, pride flickering in his chest like a candle being lit. “See you in the morning, Lucy.” 


	4. Chapter 4

“Come on, Dragneel! Be a man and give me ten more!”

Physical Therapy with Elfman eventually became one of Natsu’s favorite parts about his day. The chiseled brute was nothing like the cheerleader from Natsu’s first day at the VA. After three months of going almost every day, the Marine noticed a definite change in his overall quality of life. Granted his ass was still stuck in his chair but at least his pain had diminished slightly. Although, if he was being honest, his sessions with Elfman usually left him hurting for days.

Natsu growled as he pushed himself further, desperately trying to pull his knees into his rising chest. Beads of sweat were falling to the mat from the tips of his salmon hair, his body shaking as he exerted every ounce of energy he had left. It felt so damn good to maxing himself out again. At the end of the day, if he laid in his bed with his eyes shut, his nerves fired almost like they used to after a fight with Gray. Popsicle Breath wouldn’t touch him, though it was probably for the best given his current capacities, but at least he could ride the adrenaline high again.

On the tenth crunch, Natsu collapsed onto the mat, panting as his lungs remembered just how much they actually enjoyed breathing. A lazy grin came to his lips as the buzz flowed through his veins, the familiar fatigue setting in his bones. Flipping himself over onto his stomach, he crawled back to his chair and hoisted himself into it, running his fingers through his damp hair. Next thing he knew, a towel was being thrown at him. “Thanks, Elfman,” he mumbled through cotton, “PT was actually work today.”

Elfman laughed, clasping Natsu firmly on the shoulder. “Thanks for not being a princess today,” he teased, the two men bumping fists. “How are you liking the new schedule? Does it work for you?”

The week prior, Natsu and Elfman had sat down and made the decision to switch the Marine’s sessions with his Group Therapy sessions. That way, Natsu could go to PT and shower afterward without having to worry about getting to Group on time. Unfortunately, there had been a few times where he’d had difficulties in the handicapped showers and had rolled into the session late, disrupting whoever was speaking at the time. He felt so terrible about it that it prompted him to ask his Trainer about moving into the Afternoon block.

“This is much better,” Natsu remarked casually while gathering his stuff from a nearby bench. The shower room was down the hall from the gym but he didn’t keep a locker at the VA like some of the other attendees. “This way Gildarts doesn’t bitch me out when I have to choose between getting to Group on time and showering.”

Both men laughed together while Natsu made his way to the shower. Rolling into the small antechamber, he threw his gym bag onto the wooden bench before stripping down. Even menial tasks like dressing himself were becoming easier to accomplish, but he still had to make sure he didn’t exhaust himself throughout the day. He had a tendency to push his limits and if he wasn’t careful, he’d run out of steam by dinner and knock the hell out.

Natsu made his way into the shower stall and lifted himself onto the plastic seat before turning on the water, allowing the scalding liquid to pelt his entire body. Closing his eyes, the pinket tilted his head back against the tile and just sat in the constant stream, the rhythmic pattern lulling him gently. In moments like those, he let his mind wander, following it through whatever rabbit hole it traveled down. Sometimes he relived memories of his days in the Corps, missions with his Fire Team, nights in the barracks with his Rifle Squad telling stories about home. Every now and then he allowed himself some more “private moments” while remembering nights with conquests past, but he rarely was able to finish. Probably because of the whole semi-public shower thing.

Other times Natsu fantasized about what his life would have been like if it weren’t for the chair. He dreamed of a day when he’d be back in uniform, playing football with his buddies, kicking Gray’s ass, the works. He wished he could walk up to a bar, look the bartender in the eye (preferably a cute one who likes to flirt with the professional line), and stand there feeling the bass fall off the club speakers in waves. Sometimes he even allowed himself to daydream about standing down the aisle in some small Church, standing tall and proud as he waited for the love of his life beside the altar. She used to be a faceless mystery in an ivory gown, just a placeholder for a woman he had yet to find in real life. However, lately, the Marine had surprised himself when in those particular fantasies, when he lifted the veil, instead of nothing he found himself staring into a very familiar set of deep chocolate brown eyes.

For the past few months, Natsu had found himself thinking about Lucy more and more. Every day he went to the VA, he made sure Gray brought him early and picked him up late so he could spend time with his new best friend. They ate lunch together, and she always picked him up from his sessions (even though he now insisted on pushing himself, the other arrangement only lasting about a week). They had even swapped numbers and often texted each other at home.

The pinket wasn’t stupid, he knew how dangerous it was to crush on a girl like Lucy. She was a bombshell, a solid 10. Natsu was damaged goods, just barely enough pieces stitched together in order to be considered whole. Lucy was gorgeous, hilarious, gentle, caring, and a million other wonderful things he couldn’t even being to name. But Natsu? As long as he was stuck in the wheelchair, he’d never be enough to be more than her friend. She deserved someone who could take her dancing, someone who could take her on beach vacations and skiing trips. She had gone through so much in her life, much like he had, and all he wanted to do was show her how beautiful life could be. Except he couldn’t. Natsu was the last possible candidate. A Queen like Lucy needed a King, not the town freak.

Sighing to himself and feeling the hot water run frigid, Natsu turned off the water, toweled off and redressed himself. He knew he could ask one of the staff nurses to come help, but he always felt uncomfortable asking one of the other guys to help him pull up his jeans. He’d taken to wearing actual clothes again over the past couple months, the first time happening by accident because of his family visiting from out of town. Lucy had remarked on how nice he looked and he’d never given his sweatpants a second thought. The downside? Jeans were waaaaay harder to put on when one couldn’t even stand on their own.

Natsu plopped himself back into his chair and made his way to the lowered mirror on the wall. His spiked his hair up, adjusted his trademark scarf and grinned wide to check his teeth. Finding nothing wrong apart from his metal tumor, the Marine quickly rolled his way to the front desk, heart racing when his eyes locked on their target.

“Took you long enough, Natsu!” Lucy teased, clicking away at her computer as the pinket parked alongside her desk. Her tea cup was stuck to the tabletop, meaning she hadn’t gotten a fresh one in a while and wisps of her golden hair were falling out of her high pony tail. Probably a long day at the office.

“Sorry Mom didn’t know you were watching the water bill so closely,” he joked back, locking his wheels into place. Didja miss me? Old Natsu was still holding strong in the recesses of New Natsu’s mind but the current incarnation had a way better hold of his mouth.

Lucy stuck out her tongue before getting back to work, hurriedly clacking at the keyboard again. Her actions prompted Natsu to take things a bit more seriously.

“Luce, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice laced in genuine concern. Nothing was more important to him than Lucy’s happiness, well, maybe a couple things like walking again but that was just by a hair.

The blonde receptionist huffed, pushing the keyboard away before laying her head on the desk facing Natsu. She had opened her mouth to speak before the two of them were rudely interrupted.

The sound of his patent leather shoes coming down the tiled hallway dragged Natsu’s gaze away from Lucy. The man wearing them only made the situation worse.

“How ya doin’ Salamander?” the blond spat, standing tall and decorated compared to the seated civilians. Natsu immediately recognized him as Laxus Dreyar, a Staff Sergeant he had met while still in Basic. Needless to say, the two had never really seen eye to eye even before the accident. Laxus stood before the desk, eyeing the two of them with a salacious grin. “Nice wheels. Still down for that rematch you were always begging for?”

Natsu growled slightly before dropping his sights, feeling defeated almost immediately. The Staff Sergeant laughed at his quick win and turned his eyes on Lucy, making the hair on the back of Natsu’s neck stand on end.

“Hey Blondie, are you free this Saturday?” Laxus asked, his voice cocky and full of assurance like he knew Lucy would say ‘yes’. Natsu was sure she would too if he hadn’t turned to look at her, flames practically engulfing her eyes.

“First you insult a decorated veteran, then ask me out in the same breath?” Lucy spat, standing up from her seat on the other side of her desk of Laxus. Natsu watched in awe as she held her ground, not budging so much as an inch. “I’d rather spend my free time with stand up Marines like Corporal Dragneel instead of embarrassments to the uniform.”

Laxus was fuming. Natsu was beaming.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us, Staff Sergeant…” And with that, Lucy dismissed Laxus without batting an eye, shocking the jackass but elating Natsu. It felt like the biggest victory he’d ever accomplished, her choosing him over someone like Dreyar. Granted, he was a complete asshole and those weren’t Lucy’s particular cup of tea (so she had explained countless times), but it stroked what little ego Natsu had left to know that she preferred his company to Laxus. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Once they were alone again, and the fire in Lucy’s eyes had been (unfortunately) extinguished, the two friends settled into their places again, resuming where they had left off.

“That was the last thing I needed today,” Lucy sighed, resting her head in her hands as her elbows propped her up against the tabletop. The longer she took to explain, the more worried Natsu became. It took everything in him to keep from interrogating her.

Eventually, she continued on her own. “My father cut me off this morning.” Natsu’s eyes went wide at the gravity of the situation. They’d spoken about her father in great detail and she had told him that the possibility was always there. But if Natsu was being honest, he never imagined a father actually cutting ties with their own child. Apparently, Lucy’s was a breed of his own. “I only have enough money saved up to continue living in my current apartment for a couple more months but I have a year until I graduate. If I can’t find something else, I’ll have to suspend my degree and move back home until I can save up enough. Which is exactly what he wants.”

Natsu’s heart broke, but not for the correct reason. Yeah, it would suck if Lucy couldn’t finish her degree on time, but her moving away was simply not an option. He couldn’t imagine coming to the VA and not seeing her bright shining smile every morning or texting her every night before finally passing out. However, he did have a lot of free time on his hands. Maybe she wouldn’t mind his help?

“Well we can’t have that now can we?” Natsu replied playfully. “If you have to look for a new place, do you want company? It’s not like I have much of a social life.”

Smiling, Lucy shook her head. “I appreciate the offer,” she answered, looking at her phone for the time. “Let’s say we meet here at the same time you’d usually show up for Group?”

Natsu couldn’t have contained the boy like grin if he wanted to. “Sounds like a date to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was late y'all! I totally thought I had posted it already. Enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

“How much longer are you going to be in there?!” 

Natsu was pacing in the hallway, towel, clothes, and kit in his lap as he waited for Gray to finish in the bathroom. He’d been up since the crack of dawn because of one of his nightmares, but had stayed in bed, staring at his ceiling as the droplets of cold sweat dried on his skin. By the time he was ready to pry himself off his mattress, he’d been annoyed to find Gray already showering. 

“Come on, Popsicle Dick,” he yelled while banging on the door enough to be considered agitating. “We’ve gotta meet Luce in an hour!” 

Cracking the door open, Gray stuck his head through, cold water dripping on Natsu’s exposed thighs. How he could shower with literal liquid ice was beyond the pinket’s comprehension. Doing it overseas was enough. No need to do that shit at home when Gray, himself, maintained the hot water heater. “I get that you’re excited to see Lucy, but can I finish washing my ass first?” he questioned gruffly, slamming the plywood door shut before Natsu even had a chance to answer. The Marine waited for an eternity, or ten minutes, before his roommate finally exited the bathroom, nothing but a towel keeping Natsu from seeing everything. “There you go,” Gray remarked coolly, walking back to his room, leaving a frustrated Natsu to wheel into the slippery tiled room. 

After a rapid shower, Natsu made sure to look absolutely perfect for his day with Lucy. He spiked his salmon hair, picked his favorite jeans, and was even able to lace up his own Chucks. If it wasn’t for the chair, he looked like he was going on an actual date. Shaking his head, he couldn’t help but chuckle at himself and his patheticness. Spending time with a blonde goddess did not equal a date. He had to get that through his thick skull. All he was doing was helping her find a place to live. That was the real mission, to keep Lucy in Magnolia. 

The two Marines, both in their civvies, piled into their van and took off for the VA. “Did she say how she was going to be transporting you?” Gray asked once he had Natsu locked in. Honestly he hadn’t even thought about it. 

Reverting to his standard defense, Natsu shrugged. “Probably in her flying car,” he quipped, “Or walking slash rolling. Don’t really care.” 

Gray snickered under his breath and Natsu half-hoped that his buddy would give him some type of hell, but was left disappointed. The raven-haired driver remained silent for the rest of their drive, only speaking again once they arrived in the VA parking lot.

Lucy, standing by the curb, was the first thing that caught Natsu’s attention. Her white linen sundress waved softly around her thighs, clutching onto the rest of her and her golden hair hung loose over her shoulders. She looked like Summer incarnate and it took his breath away. The van pulled up to meet her and Gray couldn’t move fast enough in the other’s eyes.   
Once they were on solid ground again, Natsu and Gray made their way to Lucy, greeted by her warm smile as always. “Hey you two!” she sing-songed, waving excitedly at them both. Her voice always had this bell-like quality to it that made Natsu’s stomach flip. She thanked them both for meeting her, and the group chit chatted for a few minutes before Gray finally took off, leaving them to their own devices. 

“Thank you for offering to help me, Natsu,” Lucy thanked kindly, her chocolate eyes dropping to the floor as her cheeks flushed. He wheeled up next to her in order to gaze up at her, trying to contain his sense of awe like always. 

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to help?” the Corporal replied, his voice full of optimism. The obvious obstacle still confused him though. “How are we getting around today anyway?”

Brushing her hair back, Lucy nodded to the Subway platform near the street corner. “There’s a stop right in the middle of the area of town I was looking at,” she explained as the two made their way to the platform. She smiled brightly as she continued, like she was proud. “I even made sure there was elevator access. AND there’s wheelchair access on every cart.” Lucy blushed again as if she was embarrassed by her own excitement. “Unless you’d rather something else. Maybe we can call Sergeant Fullbuster and use your van?”

No way was Popsicle Dick standing between him and his day with Lucy. Shaking his head assertively, Natsu grinned as they neared the elevator doors. He leaned over quickly in order to beat her to the button, chuckling at his small victory.

“Subway’s fine by me,” he answered as cheerfully as possible despite mentally preparing for the onslaught of people down in the terminal. As much as he hated to admit it, Natsu didn’t exactly do well in big crowds anymore, not since coming back from Alvarez. Whenever he was surrounded by others he felt like he was lost in a sea of bodies, swallowed whole without a life preserver. Not to mention crowds provided way too much of a sensory overload, his eyes always shifting to cover all access points, always listening for the slightest out-of-place sound. Like they said, you could take the man out of the Corps, but you could never take the Corps out of a man. 

Once they were both inside the elevator, Natsu instinctively let his fingers slide to the inside panel of his chair, instantly breathing a sigh of relief at the familiar cold feeling of steel. His tactical knife rested where it always did, assuring the Marine that he could handle anything that came at them. 

“Do you always carry your knife with you?” came a small voice over the sounds of squeaking gears. Looking up into her eyes and finding only the smallest amounts of fear, Natsu decided to explain himself...to an extent. 

“Can’t carry my Colt anymore, but at least I can keep my knife,” Natsu explained, bits of shame tinging his voice as they arrived at the underground platform. The two of them made their way out of the cart before the Marine stopped off to the side in order to catch his breath. The crowds were shifting like the tide and it made him physically ill. Before he knew it, a certain blonde came into view and the feeling of weight on his shoulders jogged him from his haze. 

“Are you alright, Natsu?” Lucy questioned, concern oozing from every pore in her body. She had placed both of her hands on either of his shoulders, pressing down lightly but just enough for him to feel her presence. It reminded him of his flak jacket bearing down on his chest and his heart immediately began to slow down a tad. 

Swallowing, Natsu mustered the courage to answer honestly. Gildarts and the group really had made a difference after all. “Don’t really like large crowds,” he answered calmly, treasuring the feeling of having Lucy so damn close. He could smell the distinct scent that was her, like wildflowers and honey, finding it lulling and exciting all at the same time. Part of him wanted to explain himself further but something in him just wouldn’t allow it.

Luckily it seemed that Lucy understood without him having to say another word. Nodding and smiling, she grabbed the handles of his chair and guided him to the most empty section of the station she could find, parking him next to a bench where she could sit beside him. There were a few bodies scattered around but nothing as bad as the platform entryway. The two of them sat and went over the ads in Lucy’s newspaper, circling the ones that seemed most appealing. Time passed slowly but took Natsu’s anxiety with it, allowing him to breath in Lucy a bit easier and sit a bit stiller. 

Half an hour passed before their train arrived. Luckily, Lucy held them back for a minute while people filed on and off the subway cars. Right before the final departure siren, she wheeled Natsu to the closest car which also happened to be one of the least occupied. Silently thanking her with his eyes, Natsu strapped his chair into the wall as Lucy took her seat beside him. The train took off almost immediately and they sat quietly as they waited for their stop. 

That lasted until a small commotion caught Natsu’s attention in the back of the car. Turning around, the Marine only needed to watch the scene for a couple second before knowing what needed to be done. An elderly woman, sitting by herself with a couple grocery bags, was being bothered by a couple of punk ass guys no older than 20. They had already knocked on of her bags to the ground before Natsu wheeled himself over. 

“Didn’t your parents teach you to treat women with respect?” he growled, gripping the wheel guides tightly. Even his chair couldn’t curb his moral center. 

The punks laughed at him, acting much tougher than he knew they were. The leader of the crew advanced on Natsu and pushed the pinket, causing him to roll slightly before catching himself. “Like you could do anything, crip,” he fired back, his posse cheering him on like idiots. Natsu could see Lucy moving out of the corner of his eye but held his hand up to signal that he had control of the situation. 

“Why don’t you come over here and see what I can do about it,” he teased, nodding the gangbanger over to him. The assailant took his challenge and darted at Natsu, only to be quickly apprehended and shoved into the wall of the car, all from his chair. His body simply reacted like normal, but it took everyone (including Lucy) by surprise. 

The punk picked himself up and cupped his now bleeding nose. “You think you’re slick huh?” he hissed before waving over his friends. The other two were just about to start in on the Marine as the train came to a stop, allowing the platform police officers to begin their patrols. The three quickly made their way off the subway and Natsu rolled back to the elderly woman to check on her. He was about to turn back to his seat when Lucy appeared beside him, the woman’s bag fully refilled and placed on the bench next to her. They all chatted for the rest of their trip into town and she thanked Natsu for his bravery, commending him for aiding her and for ‘restoring her faith in young people’. 

Once the two of them were streetside, Natsu and Lucy immediately headed for the first location, a small studio apartment in an ‘alright’ part of town. Their mission went on for hours, each time becoming more and more disappointed at every location. After seeing ten different apartments, they settled in a nearby park while Lucy huffed annoyedly. 

“I’m never going to find a place to live!” she yelled exasperatedly, nearly pulling her golden hair out by the roots. She was pacing on the manicured lawn, still ranting, as Natsu sat in his chair in the shade. As much as he hated the situation, he had to admit. Lucy was adorable when she was angry. Her tiny fists balled up as if they intended to do actual damage (which was laughable) and her face scrunched up causing wrinkles to appear all over. Still, he hated seeing her so distraught.

Natsu felt terrible for her. He couldn’t imagine the kind of stress she was under and there wasn’t much he could do to help… or was there? “You know, there’s an extra room at our place,” he murmured, half-hoping she wouldn’t hear him. But of course he wouldn’t be so lucky. The blonde beauty’s head snapped and she immediately locked gazing with him, sending chills down his spine. 

“I couldn’t do that to you and the Sergeant,” Lucy replied honestly, coming to sit beside his chair on the grass. She brought her knees up and dropped her forehead to meet them, sighing. A moment of silence passed between them before Natsu cleared his throat and spoke again. 

“Seriously Luce,” her attention returned to his face but her lack of familiar warmth upset him. She wasn’t Lucy without her thousand watt smile. “There’s an extra room that we never use. We rent the house from our old Gunny for practically nothing as it is.” Gently pushing on her shoulder, he grinned at her. “As long as you don’t mind living with a couple of Jarheads, there’s more than enough space for you.” 

Lucy’s gaze gave nothing away, not even the slightest sentiment. He could tell that the gears in her mind were turning but that was all. Honestly it scared him more than the sound of enemy fire. Did she think he was crazy for even offering? It wouldn’t be that bad right? It’s not like living with a girl would be that different from living with Gray. She blinked softly before sitting up, her eyes trained on his the whole time. 

“Are you sure your roommate wouldn’t mind?” she asked, her voice soft, mousey, and very un-Lucy. Natsu wanted to throw his fists up in the air in triumph. Had he really won? 

“Nah, trust me. He’ll be cool with it, promise,” Natsu replied excitedly, saying silent prayers to whatever deity would be goodly enough to listen. “What do ya say, Luce?” 

Smiling her trademark smile, Lucy shot up from her seated position and threw herself into Natsu’s lap, throwing her arms around him in the largest embrace she’d ever given him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you Natsu!” she cheered. 

The happiness she felt overshadowed the obvious obstacle that stood in their way. Now to get the Snow Princess on board...


	6. Chapter 6

“--THE FUCK?! So you just offered up our house?!” 

In all honesty, Gray had every right to be upset. It wasn't like Natsu had given away the last of their beer or something, he'd offered their spare bedroom to a seemingly random college girl! The two Marines had at one time discussed the possibility of renting out that room sometime in the future, but that plan had always been dependent on Natsu and his progress. 

“If I didn't, she'd have to drop out and move back to Acalypha, Ice Dick,” Natsu replied as he wheeled himself over to the sink to drop his dishes in the sink, his voice taking on a somewhat whiny tone against his will. At least he had waited until they were home to drop the bomb. He had brought it up over dinner, initially causing the Sergeant to choke on his pasta, but eventually Gray had gathered enough rage to just let Natsu have it. 

“And this is our problem how…?” Gray snapped, immediately beginning to wash the dishes, handing the dripping ones down to Natsu for drying. 

“Because she's nice and deserves help?” What else was he supposed to say? Oh, she needs to move in with us so I don't have to say goodbye to the one female that doesn't look at me like a puppy in a cone collar? Natsu shook his head and sighed. “Come on. It's only for a year until she graduates.” He racked his brain for any other argument he could muster. A thought came to mind but it was the cheapest move in the book. “Maybe she has cute friends that like guys in uniform?”

Gray huffed grumpily as he continued to wash the same plate he’d be working on for the past couple minutes. Natsu could tell that his best friend was more upset by Natsu’s single minded decision making than he was by the prospect of Lucy moving in. All Natsu had to do was find the right switch to flip and Lucy would have the green light. When Gray finally handed off his plate, he looked down at Natsu and cocked his head to the side slightly, as if trying to read the other Marine like a book. A moment passed before Gray spoke again, his gaze falling in defeat. “You know we’ll have to actually keep this place clean then, right?” 

YES! Natsu thanked his roommate rapidly before speeding off for his room to grab his phone. He happily shot a text off to Lucy before he heaved himself out of his chair and flopped onto his bed. Folding his sculpted arms underneath his head, the salmon-haired Marine breathed in deeply before allowing himself to sink further into his mattress, but not before his face lit up with the biggest shit eating grin he had ever donned. Lucy moving in meant that he’d get to see her every day, eat meals with her, watch movies together, everything he craved to do with her but couldn't in the capacity he really desired. But if he didn't stand a chance to be her boyfriend, at least he could be her favorite roommate. With the fantasy of Lucy running through his mind, of her hips swaying down his hallway, casting the sweetest smile over her shoulder as she shut her door for the night, Natsu let sleep overcome him. 

The next morning, he woke up surprisingly refreshed. No nightmares, no cold sweats, nothing. All that awaited him were a million grateful texts from Lucy and the sounds of Gray already hard at work fixing up the spare room. Natsu could hear his best friend shuffling boxes down the hall, stopping in the living room, and back again for the next load. Maybe they could use him and his chair like a dolly. At least they’d get done quicker. 

The Marine hoisted himself into his wheelchair, not bothering to change out of his standard-issue sweatpants and tanktop. He immediately rolled out into the hall and over to the doorframe in order to watch Gray work. Surprisingly there wasn’t much left to do. The furniture from when they moved in was again visible instead of being buried under duty bags and old boxes. There was a metal bookcase in the back corner that Natsu knew Lucy would appreciate, a full bed situated in the middle of the back wall beneath a large uncovered window that opened up to their spacious (and rarely occupied) backyard. The matching dresser was covered in an inch-thick layer of dust but was beautiful nonetheless. Gunny had made them himself but they’d never really been used by the boys. Gray had his own furniture from before he moved in and Natsu had to replace all his with medical grade equipment after his accident. The only time the pinket remembered the room being used at all was when his sister Wendy had come to visit shortly after he had returned home. 

“Nice of you to join me, Asshole,” Gray muttered as he stripped away his t-shirt and used it to wipe the sweat from his brow. He threw a semi-empty box over by the door right next to Natsu’s feet. “We gotta start going through this bullshit. She has to move in before the First, right?”

 

Natsu grinned devilishly as he leaned over, grabbed the box, and dropped it in his lap. He didn’t even want to fight Gray about the teasing, reveling in the normalcy of it all. Most people would have taken offense to being called something derogatory but to Natsu and Gray, it was nothing more than pet names between brothers. Over the past couple months, as Natsu grew stronger, Gray acted more normal by the day. At first, it started off with small things like not doing every little thing for him and eventually grew to include the hurling of casual insults. If he was being honest, Natsu had to admit that it raised his spirits a bit, but not nearly as much as the prospect of Lucy moving in with them.

Looking down into his lap, he noticed the cardboard box contained the remnants of his Service days. Pictures of his teams, medals and commendations, the works. Before he knew it, another box was being added on top of the first, almost completely obstructing his sight in all directions. “Yup, she’ll have to start moving in here in about two weeks,” he replied as he carefully rolled back to his room and dropped the mementos in the corner. Natsu brushed off the dust off his sweats before heading back to the other room. “You sure you’re okay shacking up with a girl?” 

Gray hopped up and sat on top of the dresser, leaning back against the wall. “Nah, it’s just a year right?” he scoffed while staring up at the white popcorn ceiling. “And having a chick around might not be such a bad thing. This place could use a serious ‘feminine touch’.” Both Marines laughed at the slight truth in Gray’s statement before he jumped down and made his way to his bedroom next door. He quickly headed for the shower, managing to lose his basketball shorts somewhere between the two, and left Natsu alone to take in the sight of the now empty room. Closing his eyes, he took a moment to imagine what Lucy’s room might look like. The empty beige walls were suddenly covered in all sorts of photos, the bed draped with her favorite starry quilt. She would probably need some kind of desk for her writing, but he still had his that was hardly ever used. The twinkling sounds of his cell phone ringing dragged the veteran out of his daydreaming and forced him back into the real world. 

Wheeling into his room, Natsu groaned when he found his former teammate calling. A picture of the orange-maned, playboy wiggled over the screen before Natsu actually forced himself to pick up, mainly just to make it stop. “Yo, Leo, what’s up Brother?” he murmured, trying to sound asleep. One could only hope he’d be spared if Loke thought he’d interrupted something. 

“Salamander, tonight the boys and I are going out since the Dragon Twins are back from their last Tour,” the other Marine slurred as if he’d already started ‘celebrating’. “Grab the Ice Princess and meet us at this bar downtown called Fairy Tail. No one has seen your ugly ass in ages.” 

Natsu feigned amusement. “I’ll relay the message, but you guys can make complete fools of yourselves without me thanks.” While he knew he probably should go, mostly because of Gildarts’ relentless nagging in the back of his mind, that didn’t mean he necessarily wanted to go. Seeing the boys would be great if they didn’t want to go somewhere like a downtown hotspot. It’s not like they were the most handicapable places in the world. 

Loke’s whining made Natsu yank the phone off his ear. “Come on man, I’m being serious.” A small huff came through the line after silence had fallen between the two brothers-in-arms. “At least think about it? Everyone would really like to see you, Boss.” 

Eventually Natsu conceded to the augmented request. “I make no promises.” And that was that. Rushed goodbyes left the pinket alone once more to wallow in his thoughts. 

Could it really be so bad? 

Hours later, once night had fallen over Magnolia, Gray and Natsu trudged their way up to the line waiting outside the newest hub for local nightlife. After some heated debates and multiple decision changes, the two ultimately dressed and headed out to meet their Squad mates. The group of Marines wasn’t exactly difficult to spot, the four of them sticking out like well-postured thumbs. Natsu immediately made out Loke and the ‘twins’ better known as Sting and Rogue. The two riflemen had grown up together, enlisted together, and served together, earning them the familial title. Gajeel held up the rear, grinning menacingly as the two joined the group. They all shared their raucous pleasantries before they were finally admitted to the club.

At least the monstrosity had one benefit. Due to Natsu’s wheelchair, the staff of Fairy Tail bumped them up to first class so that the group could have access to the booths. There was a ramp up onto the raised platform hidden on the side of the main room and the six of them quickly found their way to their table. 

“First round is on me, boys!” Loke exclaimed, trying to be heard clearly over the booming music. And before anyone could stop him, the redhead was weaving through the crowds to get to the bar. The rest of them settled down and began catching up, sharing the highlights of what had happened in the past year and a half. When Loke returned, not only was he carrying a tray full of glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey, he was also smirking in his trademark fashion. 

“Check out the pack of babes by the bar,” he instructed as he directed their attention to the bar. Each of them craned their necks in order to get a glance at whoever Loke was talking about. It didn’t take their trained eyes long to find their targets and Natsu felt as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Luckily he didn’t have to say anything. Gray did that for him. 

“Hey Natsu! Isn’t that Lucy?!” he mocked, wryly sipping his whiskey. She was surrounded by other girls, a couple he recognized from photos she had shown him. Queue the casual ribbing. 

Sting, the blonder half of the Twins, soon broke up the teasing as he announced his intentions. “Well, if you guys wanna circle jerk all night, be my guest. I’m going to get to know those girls over there.” His sights turned on Natsu before he downed the rest of his drink. “Wanna introduce me to the hot one?” 

Natsu’s world turned red. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to react before Sting was already cutting through the crowd. He sat faithfully and watched as his comrade infiltrated the group, never once gesturing back to the other Marines. However, the longer he made himself watch, the sicker he became. The last thing he saw before finishing off his own drink and excusing himself from his brothers was Sting closing the gap and running his fingers through the very strands of gold that had been haunting Natsu’s dreams for weeks.


	7. Chapter 7

The last thing Lucy had wanted to do was go out to some club. After spending the day cleaning her apartment, she had received the text from her friends inviting her for a night out. Honestly she hadn’t been out much after she started her degree program a year ago and it was getting significantly more difficult to come up with excuses on the fly. Between working at the VA, school, and packing, she was exhausted, only having two weeks to gather up what was important and sell the rest, including most of her bigger furniture pieces. After informing her that Sergeant Fullbuster had actually agreed to her moving in with them, Natsu had also told her that the room came pre-furnished. Luckily that meant extra money in her pocket for rent in her new home. While that helped keep the stress at bay, there was also the looming topic of ‘her father’. 

Jude had been in touch recently, within the past couple days, petitioning for her return to Acalypha. Of course, he had cited the ‘unnecessary tribulations of working a lower-class job and living in a sham of an apartment’ as reasons why Lucy should give up on her quest for freedom but those only served as fuel for her fire. She loved living in a tiny studio apartment she got to call her own. The blonde student also loved her job at the VA more than she could describe. Seeing the veterans day after day, overcoming some of the worst obstacles life could throw at them, gave her hope that she too could tackle any problem that came her way. Even if it was a mustached man in a suit who had come to to take her away...

Natsu wouldn’t let that happen. The thought came to mind without her consent, taking Lucy by surprise. In the past few months, the two of them had become quite close and she knew without a doubt that he would keep her safe from anything, even her own father. Honestly, when she looked at Natsu she didn’t see his chair no matter how much he despised the thing. She saw him as a strong, courageous, rambunctious Marine who worked harder than anyone she had ever met. She was sure there was very little he could do to change her mind. 

Looking around her tiny living space, Lucy sighed as her phone buzzed again. If it was one of the girls further trying to pester her, she was going to flip her lid. A small smile creeped onto her dust-covered face when she saw it it was her favorite Marine. 

“Hi, Natsu,” Lucy greeted warmly, throwing herself down onto her full-sized bed. 

“Heya Roomie,” Natsu teased. Lucy couldn’t help but chuckle at the new nickname. “Your new room looks pretty awesome if I don’t say myself. It’s almost all ready for you.” 

The blonde smiled widely to herself, the now familiar blush creeping up her neck and jaw from her shoulders. It seemed to be happening more and more frequently as of late. “I appreciate the effort,” she replied, “and make sure to thank Sergeant Fullbuster for me too.” She knew he had to have helped Natsu with her room but she left it at that, as if thanking the Sergeant for simply allowing her to move in. No need to take unnecessary jabs at Natsu’s already rocky self-esteem. 

“I’ll be sure to tell him. And you know you can call him by his name, right?” Listening closely, she could hear Natsu shifting in his seat. Something was bothering him.   
“Something on your mind, Natsu?” Her voice was sweet and serene while she tried to coax out what was upsetting him. Hopefully he wasn’t having second thoughts. Lucy had already turned in her notice to the landlord that she was vacating at the end of the month. If her living arrangement with Natsu fell through, she would have no choice but to move back to the family estate. 

A small huff escaped his lips before Natsu decided to answer. “Nah, just tired from all the moving.” Lucy’s brows furrowed at his blatant lie but she didn’t call him out on it. If he wasn’t telling her something, it was for a reason. Unfortunately she didn’t get long to keep trying regardless. “I just wanted to keep you updated. I gotta go shower and shit. I’ll talk to you later?” 

“Of course,” Lucy answered. “I’m hanging out with the girls later but I’ll text you when I get a chance.” Natsu said goodbye and hung up quickly, leaving her somewhat stunned. She knew something was up, but she was just going to have to wait for him to tell her. 

Looking over at the clock on her nightstand, she figured she had time for a quick nap, a shower, and could finish getting ready just in time for Juvia to pick her up. Lucy quickly stripped down to her gray cotton bra and panties, throwing the clothes she’d been wearing all day into her hamper before tucking herself under her mother’s quilt. She undid the elastic band holding her hair up and allowed her blonde tresses to fall loosely across her babyblue pillow while she pulled the star-streaked blanket underneath her chin and quickly drifted to sleep.

A couple hours passed and Lucy woke up to the sounds of a chirping phone beside her head. She groggily pulled herself out of bed to find that she only had an hour until her friends arrived. Hurriedly, she took off what little clothing she was wearing and got into the shower. While part of her wanted to spend a little extra time ‘focusing on herself’, she knew she didn’t have the time and huffed at her lack of forethought. She knew she should have set an alarm…

With a slinky black dress, blood red lips with stilettos to match, and pin-straight blonde locks, Lucy walked out her front door to the car awaiting her. Juvia, one of her longtime friends from when she first moved to Magnolia, was waving at her from inside the vehicle, obviously excited for their night out on the town. 

“It’s so nice to see you Lucy!” the bluenette exclaimed, throwing her arms around Lucy the second she was seated inside. “It’s been forever since you’ve been out with us.” 

The blonde grinned back at her friend as she buckled herself in, the two soon on their way to a club called ‘Fairy Tail’. “I know, I know…” she placated, staring out the window at the building flying by. “Between school and work, I’m usually just waaaaaay too tired to go out like this. Plus, with friends like Cana, it’s not like I’ll get away with having just one drink or anything.” Juvia laughed and nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what Lucy meant. Whenever their group of friends got together, their nights tended to go on indefinitely. Cana and Minerva could easily drink any of them under the table and usually did. Yukino could swing either way, often going above and beyond if she gave into temptation. Luckily Levy kept her head about her, never having more than a couple drinks during the entirety of their outings. 

The two girls strolled up and the gaggle of them were instantly granted access, probably because of how they were dressed. Cana immediately led them to the bar, situating them in their own little corner. A multitude of guys made passes at each of them, some reveling in the attention while the others shirked it off and kept sipping their drinks in an attempt to seem aloof. Overall, Lucy finished three by the end of the first hour, mainly due to her own boredom. 

“Look at the crew over there!” Minerva yelled above the booming music, pointing to another group of young men standing in the VIP section. The ladies all turned to stare and Lucy blanched instantly. Two faces stuck out of the crowd, belonging to both Natsu and Sergeant Fullbuster.

Allowing herself to stare for a moment, Lucy took in the sight of what little she could see of Natsu. His hair was unkempt but slightly more styled than usual. He wore a black button down with his sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, showing off his sculpted forearms. She could tell his was wearing dark jeans, but couldn’t see his shoes behind the oceanic crowd between them. Gods he looked handsome, but a whisper in the back of her mind told her to drop her gaze like someone staring directly into the sun. 

“Hey Lucy...that looks like that guy you showed me a picture of,” Levy prodded, “The hot guy from the VA?” 

Lucy could feel her entire body blushing and she could only attribute about 30% of it to the alcohol. “Yeah, but it’s not that big a deal,” she murmured, knocking back the rest of her drink before leaning across the bar to order another. “Don’t bring any attention to us, okay?”

“Too late, one of them is already inbound,” Minerva shouted and Lucy prayed to the Gods above that it was Natsu. Unfortunately she was soon accosted by one of the other gentlemen from his party. 

“Hey there, gorgeous,” the blond oozed, his slender fingers sliding through her hair. Lucy immediately pulled away, shooting back a look of disgust. 

“I’m sorry, but who said you could touch me?” she barked, grabbing her new drink that the bartender had just set down beside her hand. How could he have possibly thought that acting so intimately with a stranger was a good idea? 

Her assailant chuckled to himself, dropping his hands into his protects blatantly. “Salamander didn’t say you were so feisty,” he murmured, “Looks and attitude? I like it.” 

Lucy scoffed as she threw back the remainder of her Whiskey Sour. Her stomach lurched just by being in his vicinity. Without so much as another word, she rolled her eyes and took off down the bar toward the other side of the club. She was so angry! How dare that guy think he had the right to touch her like that? That creep hadn’t even asked her name. And who the hell was Salamander? Her mind was racing as she tried to weave her way through the outer layer of the crowd but a sharp pain in the side of her leg shook her from her daydreaming. 

“Shit, Lucy, I’m so sorry,” Natsu shouted, ending down to take a look at her leg. Lucy watched with a warm gaze as he tended to her, barely coming to when he asked her if she was in any pain. 

The blonde shook her head, her body swaying slightly with the momentum. “J-just throbb-bing a bit,” she slurred against her will. Natsu’s eyes went wide before he reached out for her hand. 

Looking up at her with big puppy dog eyes, Natsu began pulling her toward him. “Here,” he stated firmly, “Sit here and I’ll get us both to somewhere we can get you a glass of water.” Lucy thought it over for a moment before she was jostled by a couple dancing rather suggestively behind her. Realizing it was safer to be with Natsu, she finally gave in and gently sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head against his shoulder.His familiar warmth rolled off him in spades, so much more than when she was simply sitting beside him. The feeling sunk into her and before she knew it, they were coming to a stop somewhere near the club’s back wall. 

A plastic cup of water magically appeared before her. “Go ahead and drink this,” he instructed, moving the cup closer to her. “It’ll help, trust me.” 

Lucy reached out and gulped down half the glass as if she had been stranded in the desert. “Thank you for taking care of me,” Lucy breathed once she handed back the cup. “You really didn’t have to.” Before she could catch herself, she lowered her head back to Natsu’s shoulder and looked up at him. “I owe you one.” 

Natsu chuckled, his laughter reverberating through his chest. He visible tensed for a moment before reaching up to brush a few stray strands away from her flushed face. “What are roommates for?” he replied, staring down at Lucy for a brief moment. “What made you run away from your friends anyway?” 

“Some guy came up to me and started touching my hair,” she answered honestly. “He was standing with you and your friends. The tall, blonde, douchebag-looking one.” 

The Marine laughed heartily beneath her. “Sting is a douche,” he said with a signature grin. “But how did you know he was my friend? Were you spying on me?” 

It was Lucy’s turn to laugh. “You wouldn’t have known I ran away unless you were spying on me,” she answered between whiskey giggles. It was true. Natsu wouldn’t have known anything if he hadn’t looked over at her, and he had to have know she was there either before or after she noticed him. 

She could have sworn she saw a blush coming over Natsu’s cheeks. “How could I not notice you, Luce? I always notice you.” 

The drunken girl picked her head up from her best friend’s shoulder and locked her deep brown eyes on his emerald ones. Her entire body felt like she was on a roller coaster, stomach in her throat, heart desperately trying to escape her chest. She found herself leaning closer to Natsu, closing the gap, only for someone to tap on her shoulder. 

“Fucking finally!” Cana shouted, a redheaded man hanging off her arm. “We’ve all been looking for you guys everywhere. Lucy, Juvia says it’s time to go.” Giving Natsu a sideways look, the brunette chuckled. “You can play with Natsu later.” 

The rest of the group eventually joined them and they were soon on their way out of Fairy Tail, the two groups mingling until they arrived at the streetside. The redhead, named Loke, went with Cana back to her place. Levy left alone while the three extra Marines took off together, leaving Natsu, Sergeant Fullbuster, Lucy, and Juvia. 

“Get home safe, ladies,” the raven-haired Marine said firmly. “Lucy, text Natsu when you get back to your place, okay?” 

Lucy nodded before she bent down to hug Natsu goodbye, lingering a bit longer than average. “Thanks again, Roomie,” she teased, pulling away after realizing their extended embrace. 

And the two girls immediately took off for Lucy’s, for both sleep and some much needed gossip.


	8. Chapter 8

"That's the last of 'em? Seriously?"

Gray brushed his dusty hands over his tattered work jeans after he finished moving the last box of Lucy things into her new room. She and Natsu followed closely behind with the items from her car, setting them on the stripped-bare mattress and forming a small pile in the middle. Luckily she didn't have much to move which meant quick work for the trio. They'd been able to clear out her apartment without having to rent a moving truck (or pay for movers due to the Marines' insistence) using just her car and their van. Plus, having Natsu there meant quicker trips as he was usually twice as fast as the other two and he could carry more in his lap. They had finished in less than six hours and Lucy was thrilled to finally be situated in her new home.

A couple days before she moved in, Natsu and Gray had invited her over for dinner so that she could get a feel for the place before the move. Of course, Natsu had given her some grand tour, showing off their humble setup like they were being broadcast on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Lucy had immediately fallen in love with her room, immediately running her fingers along the delicately carved filigree on the dresser. The pinket just sat back and watched as she took in her new surroundings, nothing but a soft smile giving away his thoughts.

Two weeks passed like molasses and now that she was all moved in? Natsu was  _ ecstatic _ . He could help her settle in and then they could do everything and anything! Binge movies and tv-shows on Webflix, sit out on the back porch at night and talk until the wee hours of the morning (as opposed to how they'd been doing it over the phone), he honestly couldn't wait.

While he loved spending time with Gray, and Natsu had to admit that his friend had been getting better recently about his attitude toward his hindered teammate, spending time with Lucy was different. Natsu wasn't a complete moron, he knew he was crushing on her  _ bad _ but he also knew he stood no chance. Lately, he had often allowed himself to think back to that night at the club when he'd had a lapful of drunken beauty cuddling right up to him. Having her lithe frame in his arms, while enjoyable for multiple reasons, had felt perfect. Like she had been made to fit perfectly against him like they were a couple of puzzle pieces. A little voice in the back of his mind told him there was a chance but the 99.999% of him knew the truth. A girl like Lucy deserved a guy who could give her the world, not someone to hold her back from experiencing it.

"Yup that's all of them, thanks to you two!" Lucy sighed happily as she plopped herself down on the foot of the bed. Natsu couldn't help but grin when he noted how pleased she looked in her new room, warming his heart simultaneously. She already seemed so at home which only confirmed that they had all made the right decision by asking her to move in. The house was almost three times as big as her studio and  _ that  _ was saying something. At least she'd be more comfortable living with him and Gray.

"Well, you can repay us by cooking dinner tonight," Natsu teased, chucking one of the decorative pillows he was carrying at her chest. The blonde stuck her tongue out at the two Marines, earning her a chorus of laughter before Gray looked down at his watch and excused himself to go shower and change.

The pinket couldn't help but pester his best friend. "Why do you have to get all dolled up to hang out with that blue-haired chick?" he asked, watching carefully as Lucy perked up, clearly not in the loop. "Unless it's a date or something…"

"Shut it, Flame Brain," Gray growled, shrugging cooly as he leaned in the doorway to Lucy's new bedroom. "God forbid I want to look presentable. Not like I have six million pairs of sweats."

It was Natsu's turn to huff. Gods it felt good to bicker with Gray. Fighting him felt like bellowing a fire back to life once it had withered to nothing but glowing embers. Granted Natsu couldn't pummel the Sergeant into the ground like he  _ really _ wanted to, but he could do with the verbal spats. For now. Eventually, they wouldn't be enough, but until then? Natsu was going to enjoy it for as long as possible.

"Why not just wear your dress uniform? You know it's a lady killer, Lt. Tightass," he laughed, causing Gray to silently head off to the bathroom while flipping the bird at his handicapped best friend (and new roommate by default). Natsu and Lucy high-fived after they heard the door slam shut, the two of them erupting once they were alone.

"I had no idea Juvia was going out with  _ Gray  _ today. She told me had lunch plans but I figured they were with Cana or something." Lucy's eyes began roaming the barren walls and Natsu could see the gears turning inside her big beautiful brain. He loved the look that came over her when she was lost in thought. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized that the object of his attention had turned her sights on him. "Helllllo. Earth to Natsu!" she teased. "You still with me?"

"Always," Natsu found himself replying automatically, feeling a slight blush rise up his chest under her warm gaze. He couldn't help but grin at the matching flushing in her cheeks. Clearing his throat, the Marine wheeled himself backward toward the door. "Usually we eat around 1700, but since you're cooking it's up to you," he remarked casually. "Ice Dick should be back by then too. It'll be nice to have dinner together your first night here."

Lucy smiled brightly, something that Natsu knew he could never get enough of. "1700 it is, but I think I'm going to take a little nap before then if that's okay." The two went their separate ways and he too decided to lay down for a nap, only for him to lose complete track of time.

A few hours later, Natsu awoke to the most glorious smells. The house had probably never smelled so damn good and it took him a minute to realize what it had to be. Looking over at the clock on his nightstand, he was shocked to see that it was almost time for dinner. He'd slept the entire afternoon away! He hurriedly dropped himself into his chair and sped out into the kitchen expecting Gray and Lucy to be waiting on him. Fortunately, the snow fairy was nowhere in sight and Lucy was finishing up dinner. Putting a bowl of steaming mashed potatoes on the small, round dinner table, she greeted her roommate happily before grabbing oven mitts from the counter.

As she bent over the oven door, Natsu couldn't help but ogle her, his eyes drinking in the very image and burning it into his memory. Her body dipped and curved in the most alluring ways, her pert ass sticking out into the open kitchen, completely unobstructed from his view. He would have given anything to be able to reach out and touch her, to run his fingers across her soft, flawless skin. Even her hair pooled in the small of her back, making Natsu yearn to grab onto it. Just the thoughts alone caused his body to react, but luckily the sharp sound of the oven door slamming shut killed his buzz.

"Hope you don't mind meatloaf," Lucy said cheerfully, dropping the scorching pan onto a towel on the dinner table. Natsu was pretty sure he'd have eaten sand if she fed it to him. "I'm going to have to go grocery shopping tomorrow because you two had next to nothing in this place. How do you two live off of pasta and tv-dinners?!"

Natsu laughed as he rolled up to his seat at the table, surprised when Lucy set everything in front of him, using actual plates and silverware. He'd forgotten they even owned such items. Looking around it was obvious that Lucy had had to dig into her own boxes for more than half of what he now saw in his kitchen. There were large bowls, mats at every seat when had she found time to buy flowers? It felt nice to sit down to a delicious homemade dinner with a beautiful girl, something he'd always dreamed of having. At least he could live in that dream with Lucy until she graduated and moved away.

"Because we had to stop stealing MRE's from the Base?" he joked, receiving a tap to the back of the head for his effort. Lucy sat in the seat beside him and poured glasses of what looked like sweet tea for the both of them. Without another word, she began to portion out food which only confused Natsu. "Are we starting without Elsa?"

Lucy glared as she scooped potatoes onto his plate, Natsu only chuckling quietly to himself in response. "Ser-  _ Gray _ called while you were still asleep," she explained, cutting up the loaf before serving them a couple pieces each. The Marine was salivating at the mere sight before him, both the meal and the girl. "Juvia invited him over for dinner and he just couldn't turn her down, apparently."

A delicious dinner alone with Lucy in what was now  _ their  _ home? Natsu couldn't have devised their predicament better if he had actually tried to. They ate their meal comfortably, conversing every so often but relaxing in the quiet moments as well. The entire situation felt incredibly domestic, even down to Natsu insisting on clearing the table so Lucy could enjoy her dessert. She soon joined him and they fell into the familiar pattern of cleaning in drying, working together like a well-oiled machine.

After dinner, Natsu had an idea. "Hey Luce, wanna watch a movie?" He wheeled into the living room and parked his chair beside the sofa, quickly shifting himself into the plush seat. Even if she didn't want to join him, he could at least watch something before going to bed. The smell of popcorn soon filled the room as Lucy joined him. She took a seat on the same couch as him, leaving a foot or so between them.

"What are we watching then?" she asked kindly, wrapping her legs up in the throw from the back of the sofa.

Handing her the remote, Natsu sat back with his arms propped up behind his head. "Your first night here? You pick," he replied, relishing in the smile that curled on her lips. He watched silently as she scrolled through the different Webflix options, giving thanks to every deity known to man when she skipped over the traditional 'chick flick' category. Eventually, she settled on a horror flick, much to his surprise, and the two of them shifted and got more comfortable as the beginning credits rolled.

Throughout the movie, there were periods where Lucy seemed genuinely terrified. When one of the leads was brutally murdered, she rapidly turned her body in order to hide her eyes in the furrows of Natsu's t-shirt. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, one hand casually stroking her golden hair in attempts at soothing her. Even when she turned to face the screen again, they stayed in the same position until the menu had reappeared.

Natsu was just about to move when he felt the slow, even breathing against his chest, signaling Lucy had fallen asleep. His entire body was on fire as he sat quietly, debating on what to do. He couldn't let her sleep on the couch so he gently removed his sleeping beauty from his lap and laid her out on the couch, Lucy groaning at the movement but remaining asleep. With a heavy sigh, he lifted himself back into his chair and positioned his right leg over his left, creating a sort of basket before lifting her back into his lap. Just like at the club, the blonde sleepily draped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Once he was sure she was secure, and after he took advantage of a few passing moments, he rolled back to her room only to find her bed still unmade.

Deciding she deserved better, Natsu brought his new roommate to his bed and laid her in it, covering her with the patchwork quilt his mother had given him before he was deployed. He could sleep on the couch for a night, unable to get into Gray's bed and unwilling to use Lucy's. Taking one last look at her, Natsu leaned forward and kissed the top of her head before heading off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

What a shitty way to start the day. 

The three of them were sitting down to breakfast when Gray broke the news. Natsu had completely forgotten about the impending Marine Corps Ball, hearing about it in passing down at the VA but never really giving it much thought. Apparently Gray had planned to remind him but by the time he had gotten home and remembered, the other two were already fast asleep on the couch. They’d done that a few times since Lucy moved in, but neither of them said anything. He sure as Hell didn’t want to ruin a perfectly good thing by opening his mouth. 

The veteran groaned when Gray made his announcement. “Do I  _ have  _ to go?” he whined, dropping his head down onto the kitchen table, earning him both a giggle and a groan from his two roommates. Sure, he had a week to mentally prepare himself but that didn’t seem at all long enough to postpone the torture. 

“Unless you want to be the one to tell the Gunny that you’re not…” the Sergeant mocked, his salmon-haired friend paling at the mere thought. “That’s what I thought.”

The blonde shook her head as she set plates down in front of the boys. Lucy had been living with them for a month already and their lives had changed drastically in that short amount of time, including their morning routine. Surprisingly, for a civilian, she fit right in with a couple of Jarheads. At the asscrack of dawn every morning she was up and at it, going for a run while the sun was just peeking over the horizon. She would then come back, shower, and immediately start cooking breakfast so that the three of them ‘began their day the right way’. Natsu had to admit that it was kind of nice to start the day off like that, mainly because it reminded him of being back home with his family. As the days passed on, the three of them turned into quite the little family unit of their own. They drove to the VA together, went grocery shopping together, even bickered after Natsu used all the hot water.  _ Now if only Gray would suddenly move out.... _

“Why wouldn’t you want to go, Natsu?” Lucy asked, her voice cheery as always as she sat down to drink her coffee. “A night of dressing up, live music, it actually sounds like fun.” 

Thinking it over, Natsu figured that the only way he’d have fun in a room full of dolled-up Marines was if Lucy accompanied him. He imagined her dressed to the nines, hair pinned up with a couple of wisps falling against her face, her smile lighting up the room as always. But his dreams were crushed as he slowly fell back to Earth. What point did he serve at some kind of _dance?_ What could he possibly do to be the Prince Charming she deserved. His mind attempted to deceive him by displaying a false fantasy, the picture shifting to Lucy in his lap as he spun them around the dance floor. They were laughing, the blonde’s hands clutching onto him as he smiled down at her sweetly. Shaking his head, he quickly reminded himself that girls like Lucy didn’t date broken Jarheads. “You wanna go? Gray gets a date, he can take you,” he mumbled, shoving pancakes into his mouth. At least he wouldn’t have to watch the girl he was absolutely crazy about hang off of his best friend’s arm. His misery was quickly interrupted by said roommate awkwardly clearing his throat in order to command their attention. 

“No, Gray  _ can’t _ take you because Gray is already taking someone else,” he said matter of factly, staring directly at Natsu and ignoring the confused looks on Lucy’s face. Sighing to himself, he awkwardly ran his fingers through his raven hair before looking her square in the eyes. “I’m taking Juvia. So if you want to go, a certain jackass is going to have to take you.” 

Lucy full on laughed while Natsu choked on his orange juice. When she turned to face him, it felt like his entire body had been set aflame. Her big doe eyes locked on him like a skilled sniper on a hill but he immediately turned his attention back to his delicious breakfast in order to regain what little composure he had left. “It’s okay Natsu,” she cooed, and to him, it felt like placating a child. “While they’re at the Ball, we can stay home and watch a movie. Oh! I think they just put that new superhero show on Webflix. We could binge that instead.” 

The pinket nodded silently, never taking his attention away from his plate. The other two faded into the background as he allowed his mind to wander. Of course he wanted to take Lucy. How could he not? Just the image of her dancing around, clutching onto him, laughing the night away, was enough to make him feel like the world was solely made for the two of them. Unfortunately, that was the part of him that still didn’t realize that he stood no chance.

The three friends finished their meals, got ready and piled into the van rather hurriedly. On days where Lucy didn't have class, they all drove to the VA together. There was no need to take two cars to the same place, plus that meant that Natsu got more time with her before having to go to group. Instead of moving his group session like he had planned to, he'd opted to stick with the same one he'd been attending and simply went to PT in the afternoon block instead. By doing that he got to spend most of the morning with Lucy at the front desk and he didn’t have to open himself up to a new group of strangers. He'd even gotten the opportunity to talk to all sorts of other Vets, even a couple older gentlemen in worse situations than himself. It always helped put things into perspective, if only for a short while. Plus, Lucy always seemed to appreciate the company. This morning seemed no different.

Lucy was busy typing something into her laptop while Natsu was returning from the bathroom. About halfway back to the desk, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Staff Sergeant Dreyar standing on the other side of it, this time with flowers in hand. Hadn’t he learned the first time? The Marine blanched when he noticed that both of them were smiling at one another, but the beautiful blonde was still shaking her head softly. Laxus walked away soon after, meaning Natsu was safe to approach.

"What did Staff Sergeant Dickwad want?" he growled, Lucy playfully nudging him in response.

"He asked me to the ball but I told him I had plans that evening," she answered, never looking up from her computer. Natsu's heart sunk in his chest. Of course more guys would ask her. He was stupid to think it wouldn't happen. He just didn't want to witness it. Part of him relished in the fact that she turned down an invitation to such an important event in order to cuddle with him on the couch and watch stupid shows on TV. However, he was still holding her back like always. 

The guilt he felt permeated the atmosphere around them until he wheeled himself away for Group. Natsu rarely ever rolled around without her, but right then? He needed his space. He needed the ability to think without breathing in the soft wildflowers that were uniquely 'Lucy'. The sounds of his bald tires squeaking across the linoleum entranced him long enough to reach to solid oak doors, finding Gildarts preparing to shut them. With a stern glare, the two soon settled in their seats. Natsu immediately noticed they were a member short.

Gildarts was the first to speak, as usual. "As you may have noticed, Bacchus isn't here." The air in the room was thick with apprehension and the group leader was quick to correct the situation. "He had an incident last night and he's under observation." No one asked for details and Gildarts offered none. They didn't need to know what happened as long as he was alright. Well, relatively anyway. Alive was better than nothing right? The session continued after they took a moment of silent reflection, the hour passing by agonizingly slow. It wasn't until everyone had already vacated the room that Natsu approached Gildarts and breathed heavily.

"Remember how you said we all needed to find something that lit a fire under our asses?" the Marine asked as casually as possible. Gildarts chuckled as he turned in his chair to face Natsu, hands reaching for the cigarettes in his back pocket.

"Yeah, what about it?" 

Natsu swallowed heavily before continuing. "Is it okay if it's a  _ someone _ ?" Honestly the pinket had started to question if his continued attraction to Lucy was even healthy. He knew he couldn't give her the future she wanted. He knew he couldn't do things for her, help her around the house, make her feel small and safe. Everything she did for him, everything she made him feel, he could never reciprocate and it wasn't fair to hoard her to himself, even if she made him feel somewhat normal. 

All Gildarts did was laugh, the cigarette he'd lit barely hanging in the corner of his wry grin. It's like he knew something Natsu didn't. Once he finally calmed down, the elder man gazed over at the young Marine and tsk-ed to himself. "You know Cana's my daughter right?" he asked Natsu, receiving a more than shocked expression in return. "I'll take that as a no. Well, let me tell you something about her." Gildarts took a drag and exhaled slowly before continuing as if trying to reinforce his emotions. "What happened to her should have never happened. And when I found out she was having difficulty adjusting, I asked myself 'How, as her father, can I make this better?' I had seen combat, Hell, I'd lost my leg already by the time her deployment came. But you know what I was doing that entire time? Sitting on my ass in front of the boob tube knocking back cold ones."

Natsu was stunned. He couldn't help but wonder if Lucy knew about Cana's past like he did. They'd been getting close over the past year and he couldn't imagine a reason as to why Cana wouldn't tell her, especially once she knew about her friendship with him.

"My point is," Gildarts added loudly, expertly obtaining Natsu's attention once more, "Sometimes it has to be someone else because we're too blind to see things the way they really are."

Those words resonated with the Marine for the rest of the day. He turned them over in his mind a million times, stroking the fire that was flickering to life in his belly. Out of every possible situation he could dream up, there was only one answer. Throughout his PT session, he pushed himself to the brink as much as he was physically able to. Elfman's orders were still in the background but he didn't find himself pushing the bars his trainer set for him. Instead, he had a new goal. As he saw it, he had a little less than a year and there was no way he wasn't meeting his deadline.  By the end of the hour, Natsu's arms were sore beyond belief, his back ached like he'd been smashed against a truck (again), but a voice somewhere in him screamed that every tinge of pain would be worth it in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! Mari here! So this is the second story that’s been kicking around in my head lately. You’ll see that Natsu isn’t quite himself, but maybe his 'Summer Camp’ will help him after all? I’ll still be working on my other story, CSIAS, and Nalu Week, but I needed to get this onto paper. Hope y'all like it!


End file.
